Doug Ford will be the new premier of Ontario after the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party won a majority of seats in the province's election on Thursday (June 7).
Early results indicate that the PC Party won approximately 74 of the province's 124 ridings. The New Democratic Party (NDP) will form the province's opposition with Andrea Horwath re-elected in one of the roughly 40 NDP seats.
The Ontario Liberal Party formed the government in the province, but only won seven ridings. Premier Kathleen Wynne was one of the seven Liberals re-elected.
In the week leading up to the province's election, many PC Party candidates issued statements in favour of the province's former slots-at-racetracks revenue sharing agreement.
“When we brought in the Slots at Racetracks Program it was considered a win-win,” said re-elected MPP Jim Wilson (Simcoe-Grey) in a release. “It solved the government’s problem at the time of where do we put legal gambling without having to open up new sites. The program was working for everyone."
Wilson's statement said that the Ontario PCs will launch a working group to consult with the horse racing community and gaming proponents to bring slots back to racetracks as quickly possible. That sentiment was echoed to those in Fort Erie by Ford himself.
“I’m a big supporter of the horse-racing industry — in fact, the biggest track in the country, Woodbine, is right in my riding,” said Ford to a gathering in Port Colborne. According to Niagara This Week, Ford stated he'd waste no time in making sure the expanded gaming returned to Fort Erie Racetrack and put the revenue sharing agreement back in place.
I sincerely hope that the
I sincerely hope that the SARP is reinstated. This will be especially beneficial to the tracks that have held out on signing the long term funding agreement.
This is a better solution than putting racing on working welfare for the foreseeable future.
Slots in this province are only here as the racing industry partnered with the government. They would have zero slots without the tracks in the first place.
Good luck to all.